House of Accessories is sponsoring a giveaway of the following two items! Click on the pictures for the product description page.

The prettiest purple butterflies, hung with antiqued brass chains.(note: prize received may not be the color displayed)

Three pretty Dusty Rose and pink bobby pins. A fabulous accessory for any length of hair.

In order to enter this giveaway, simply respond to this post, telling me your favorite activity to do while settling in for a long hair styling session. It’s ok if you don’t have long styling sessions, you can just state that and still enter.

For example, my favorite thing to do is to read a book on my Kindle while styling my hair. I can click a button to turn the “pages” with my toes

Two ladies will be chosen randomly using Random.org. The first lady chosen will win the earrings and the second will win the pins! This contest will end Monday July 19th at 11pm CST. You must be a subscribed member, either through Google or Feedburner. Please read the disclaimer.

I’m also having to instate a new rule: Prizes must be claimed via email within a week after the contest ends. I’m having some ladies who don’t pick up their prizes.

Good luck to all that enter!

I know we are all on the lookout for natural tees with some style and uniqueness. Well, I recently stumbled across Dirty Artist- Urban Tees. These designs are incredibly trendy and clever. Check em out! That lady drop kicking the woman trying to touch her hair is the one I’m ordering

Natural hair tees aren’t the only thing they have for sell. They also have quite a few shirts that are just plain cool. Even for the man in your life! (A kids’s line is apparently in the works!)

Someone mentioned this device in a post on LHCF. I was flabbergasted…it looks like magic!! Check out the videos:

Holy moly! I was curious about what lengths this device would work on. I emailed the company and they replied:

Thank you for your interest and your time as well. Nudred has been most successful on hair 1/8-1.5 inches long, however it has worked on hair up to five inches long as well depending on the texture of ones hair. We have done demos on those with longer hair and watched their eyes light up with amazement. Usually with longer hair the style becomes an edgy kinda loose twist.

NuDred

Obviously, I won’t be trying this, but I’m curious to see if any of you ladies have. If it works, it seems that it would be perfect for those with TWAs who want to do more than just wash n go.

Thanks to Jessica of  Jessica’s Jewels for sharing her hair journey and beautiful creations with us!

The Lady

How long did you transition and what styles did you use to do so?

I transitioned twice. The first time, I had been wearing my hair in a curly style for about 10 years using what I thought of as a ‘texturizer’. I decided I wanted a change so I went to a new hairdresser for a blowout and trim so that I could wear my hair straight. While I was relating my history and current regime, she asked me, “Have you ever considered going natural, and just letting it grow out?” I can still remember the shock I felt, it was like, “I can do that?” In my family, you have to ‘do something’ to your hair (My mom still struggles with how I chose to wear my hair)!

My hair had never been very healthy and never got past my shoulders. In part because I didn’t know how to care for it and had just resigned myself to having “bad hair”.

So, with the encouragement of my new hairdresser (I still love Michelle at Body & Soul in Chicago), I stopped relaxing and began using heat to straighten my locks. I grew out my hair for about 8 months, but gave myself some serious heat damage. I didn’t know about wrapping my hair at night or any techniques on extending a blowout. So I started to get a lot of breakage. A LOT of breakage. So it broke off from just about shoulder length to ear length.

I thought at the time, my hair was so fried and lifeless, I had better return to what I was doing before because my hair was healthier then! So I relaxed again twice over a period of 4 months. But I wasn’t happy with my hair and missed the thick fullness I has experienced earlier.

So in August 2008, I decided, there has to be a better way and just decided to see how being natural would be in a curly state, instead of heat straightened (and damaged)!

What is your current regimen to keep your tresses healthy?

I experimented a lot with different products, but have finally found a routine that works for me. I wash with a few drops of Dr. Bronner’s unscented castile soap about once a week. Then I do a moisturizing deep condition or a strengthening deep condition. I do this every week. It’s like a little spa in my living room.

For moisturizing, I use about half a 12oz can of coconut milk (just the solid part), olive oil and honey. For strengthening, I’ve used Cassia in the past, but now I love Lush’s Caca Brun Henna treatments. I used the leftover coconut milk to mix the Henna, which keeps it from being too drying. I’ll sit with either mixture for 4-6 hours, depending on how my day shapes up.

Then, I usually divide my hair in 2 halves. I put a small palm-full of aloe vera gel into each half. I separate my hair into rows for my flat twists, and detangle with a Denman knock-off. I use a LOT of shea butter then flat twist my hair into 4-6 braids on each side.

Every night I mist my hair with a blend of Rose Water and Glycerin and might re-twist, depending on how I’m feeling.

What do you love most about your hair?

The only word to describe my hair is lush. It’s still short, not quite shoulder length (stretched) but I’ve got volume! It feels strong and I have a hard time keeping my hands out of my hair.

What has been the hardest part of your natural hair journey?
Split ends! I’m still struggling with my hair splitting if I look at it wrong. It’s a struggle to keep my ends healthy, recent pics remind me that I need a trim.

What is your go to style these days?

A flat twist out. I’ll put in 8-10 flat-twists at night and in the morning I’ll have beautiful, full coils that last 2-3 days.

Any favorite products/ingredients you just can’t live without?

Shea butter and Aloe Vera gel for my styling.
Coconut oil for my scalp
Coconut milk, honey and olive oil for deep treatments

What advice do you have for the newly natural ladies?

Have fun. The most amazing thing about our hair is that it can be different everyday. Sometimes it different will be totally whether we want it to be or not! Work with your accessories, wear some pretty jewelry and hold your head high.

The business

How long have you been making jewelry?

I started making jewelry with a small group of girlfriends in 2002. I had never worn much jewelry until I started making my own pieces that were customized to fit me and work with my outfits.

What prompted you to start your own business?

I had sold a couple of bracelets or necklaces here and there but nothing systematic. I was getting so many compliments on jewelry that I wore daily. Last year (2009) was very difficult for me, spiritually and emotionally. As the year ended, I learned that my employment contract wouldn’t be renewed and I immediately started celebrating in my head. With any transition like this you have to think very clearly and I spent a lot of time deciding the kind of work I was going to pursue, the kind of companies I’d be willing to work for and the career I wanted to build for myself.

Now, call me crazy, but I figured there was no better time to start a business. The market and economy can only go up and the quickest way to re-employment is self-employment! So, I’m invest my time and making my expensive jewelry habit a lucrative jewelry business!
You have a lot of unique designs. What inspires you in your creations?

Thank you! I wrote a post on this to remind myself! The one thing I love about jewelry making is you have something tangible at the end of your work. Sometimes it’s breathtakingly beautiful, sometimes it’s not, but it’s always a journey. And I love jewelry because it always fits, even if my diet has gotten out of control! It’s a fun way to polish your look and show your personality.

What plans do you have for your site in the future?

Good question! I just released my Spring/Summer collection and recently begun selling items on Etsy.

I plan to continue blogging, I’ve got a couple of interviews with other designers lined up. I’ll also release a wedding line in the near future. And I want to start doing trunk shows and craft events too!

Do you have any advice for the ladies out there who are thinking of starting their own online business?

I am far from an expert, but I’m constantly reminding myself that it is okay to try and okay to fail. More people want to see you succeed and are willing to help you than you believe. And haters only mean you are headed in the right direction!

I stumbled upon this Etsy store a few weeks ago. We all love flower accessories, but these are so unique and beautiful, I just had to share.

Kanzashi Hair Comb

Flower Clip

Headband

Flower Bobby Pin

The name of this shop is Petal Mix. From the shop’s description:

Petal Mix hair accessories and brooch pins are a modern twist on the Japanese art of tsumami kanzashi. Each petal is hand cut and folded from beautiful silks, imported Japanese textiles, and other high quality fabrics.

The colors are so vibrant and there are a lot of different designs, all with a Japanese flavor! Something I also like about this shop is that you can customize your order.

Here’s my purchase:

I adorned my puff with this hair comb

They are a little bit more expensive than I care to pay for hair accessories normally (I think I paid 18 bucks for this one?) but when I find something really unique, I feel it’s worth it. The combs are a bit iffy. I was a worried that I wouldn’t be able to get it through my hair as they have pretty skinny spacing. However, it slid easily on the side of my puff and twist outs. It did not, and that’s a big NOT, slide into my hair when it was twisted.

These are fabric as well, so I’ve had to be careful when my hair is heavy with product. Shipping was very fast and it came in a pretty box with a ribbon around it. (Hey, presentation is everything, right?)

I’m thinking about getting another one, but I have to decide the color.

The kind people at LadyBugsNButterflies sent me some cute hair accessories to try out. Since I am lacking the ever crucial-to-playing-in-hair “girl child”, I borrowed my friend’s darling little girl to model these items.

They let me choose two and I picked the ones below. Something I liked right off the bat was that you can pick and choose what kind of clip you want to secure the accessory. The crocheted pieces are very well made. The prices seem to range anywhere from $4.00 to $7.00.

"Amanda Jo" Frog Clip

Back of the frog clip. We chose a toddler clip for this one.

They have a lot of different types of clips.

"Emma Joy" Flower accessory, our second choice

We chose the Toddler "O" for the flower.

Our little model, showing off her cornrows with the flower clip.

Thanks to LadybugsNButterflies for letting us try these out, they are so cute!

Here are a few others that I really  liked:

I found a nice Etsy shop (LovMely Accessories) with adorable headbands. I know some in my last post may have been too pricey. These range between 10-30 bucks.

Spring is coming! I don’t know about the rest of you ladies, but I’m ready for winter to get gone!

I see Kcurly laying next to a pool (or maybe in a field of flowers, I haven’t decided yet), with a beautiful maxi dress on, a afro puff in place with some cute flowers strategically placed.  Time to stock up on some nice colorful accessories for spring! I’m trying to narrow it down. Here are some for your consideration!  First up, Andrea’s Beau.

Their new spring designs have arrived! Check them out!

A big fave of mine, Tomoka’s Twists, has a special right now that includes free shipping for orders over $9.99.That includes international orders! She always has some fun colors!

Of course, for some quick, cheap summer accessories (rings, necklaces, etc), I can always count on Two Dollar  Jewelry. Wouldn’t this necklace be perfect with a summer dress?

Bali Summertime Necklace

Coveryourhair.com was kind enough to do a giveaway a few weeks ago for Newly Natural. They also sent me a few samples of their accessories. I was sent two headbands, which were really nice. Here’s one:

Plaid Headband with Flower. The only complaint I have about it is that it's made from a somewhat rough material.

However, what I was really interested in were the pretied bandanas.

So, I ordered two. They have a clearance area (I am ALL about some clearance!), so I ended up spending about 12 bucks each for them. I’ve found them as low as around 10 dollars, though. Here are my impressions:

• The designs are incredibly striking and unique.
• The prices are not outrageous
• They are fitted at the bottom with a small amount of elastic
• Made from stretchy lycra

I love it! And I don’t have to look like a “Maw-Maw” around the house. The lycra is not a rough material and I don’t find it drying like cotton, but you may still want to wear your satin bonnet under it.

I also ordered this flower clip. It cost around 6 dollars and the neat thing about it is that it has three means of attaching it: hair clip, safety pin, or ponytail holder. I used the ponytail holder to pull back my twists. It’s huge but I really like it. I just have no idea where I would wear it.

Flower in a twist bun

The underside of the flower. It can attach in three different ways. It can decorate your hair or clothes

Delivery was super fast and I had no problems ordering it. Coveryourhair.com is a new favorite!

OK, how long has it been since I got these? And haven’t worn them at all. No more, I say! (Read my post on where I found these here)

My twists were skinny enough that I could get these on. I have to say that I love them! Very unique, but subtle. They were a little difficult to figure out. I ended up winding the twist through the spring on each accessory until my twist was fully inside.